Lake Allatoona Fishing Report August 2011

Allatoona: Level: 2.3 feet below full pool. Temp: 88-90 degrees. Clarity: Clear; 4- to 4 1/2-foot visibility.

Bass: Fair to good. Matt Driver reports, “Even though about 80 percent of the bass are deep this month, we have caught several fish shallower, with a few coming on Jewel Akins jigs and brown-with-chartreuse Spanky’s jigs on blowdowns in the main-lake pockets. This bite has been late evening and early morning. As usual the fresh brush bite is hit or miss, and you need to cover multiple piles just to catch a limit. Brush in the 12- to 18-foot range that is isolated and not heavily fished is holding good spots and largemouths. As in the past month, sonar and side-finder machines are very helpful. Fishing blind is not very productive. The night and evening bite is the ticket. Deep cranking a Spro Little John DD in cell mate and a big Colorado-blade spinnerbait around brush and large rocks in the 12- to 18-foot range is producing good fish. Use the Little John DD on 10-lb. Sunline fluorocarbon and a 7-foot, 11-inch St. Croix glass cranking rod so you can feel the different type bottom your bait is hitting. For numbers, the shaky head and drop shot are your best bet. For the shaky head, we are using the 1/8-oz. Davis Bait Company HBT jig head tipped with a natural-colored, squirrel-tailed worm made by Big Bite. As for the drop shot, I fish it on 6- or 8-lb. test Sniper fluorocarbon tipped with a Big Bite Shaky Squirrel finesse worm with a 1/0 Gamakatsu drop-shot hook. Fish it slow around rock and brush in 12 to 16 feet in the Etowah River. Don’t be afraid to make multiple casts to the same area to evoke a strike from a finicky bass.” Craig Miller, of the Dugout, reports, “Concentrate your efforts on deep points and steep banks in 18 to 22 feet of water. The fish are on any piece of deep cover in these areas. The cover can be anything from brushpiles to rocks or stumps. The most productive baits are Texas-rigged worms or shaky heads with 6-inch Roboworms. Good colors are morning dawn and black grape. If the fish will not bite a worm, switch to a 1/4-oz. Spanky’s jig. Sometimes the fish prefer the jig. Fishing deep-running crankbaits at night in these same areas will also produce fish. Baits such as DD22s in midnight blue or raspberry will do the trick. Be sure to achieve maximum depth. Early in the mornings, there is a small window of opportunity to catch fish on topwater. Fish points and around docks with a Super Spook Jr. in chrome or bone. As the sun begins to rise, try to find as much shade as possible to fish.”

Linesides: Good. Robert Eidson said the live-bait bite is starting to fall off some because it’s hard to keep your shad alive, and the trolling bite is starting to pick up. He’s catching 20 to 35 stripers and hybrids on a morning trip right now. Because dissolved oxygen is so low in the lake right now, all of the fish seem to be within eyesight of the dam. Robert said to concentrate your efforts on either arm within a mile of the dam. He said anywhere from the mouth of Stamp Creek to Bethany Bridge should hold fish. Good places to look are Coopers Branch, Iron Hill and the Red Top Campground cove. Once you find the fish, start the morning fishing live shad downlined to 24 feet. This can be a good bite if you’re on feeding fish, but fresh baits every three or four minutes are necessary to keep lively shad on the line. Once this peters out, switch to trolling umbrella rigs. Robert has been having success pulling nine 1/2-oz. white bucktails with chartreuse trailers about 110 feet behind the boat, which puts his rigs about 24 feet deep. Also keep your topwater baits ready in case any schooling fish come up. They’ll hit a popping cork, fluke or Sammy, but Robert prefers the biggest white Rooster Tail he can find. The secret to getting bit is to fish with light line (6-lb. test) and to retrieve your bait as fast as you can crank it in. In these conditions it’s important to get your fish back in the water quickly if you want to release it. Keep your camera ready because a quick release can mean the difference between a dead fish and one that swims away. Robert also suggested riding back over the area you just fished and keeping any floaters.